One thing I find really annoying in my line of work:

Like it or not, most people now have home computers, smartphones, and access to the internet pretty much everywhere they go. (And if you're going to Outer Mongolia or some other place where you don't have it, leave an out of office message that says so.)

There is absolutely NO reason why a member of the press should not be able to contact someone immediately in response to a press release! NONE! Don't be a stooge! Read on:::

One time I received a press release with FIVE different phone numbers on them and NOT ONE SINGLE answer! Either ring-ring-ring-ring or a non-dated voicemail. (I can't tell you how many times people will call me back DAYS LATER after I have left a message!)

If you can't be right at the phone or have someone who will be, and you expect a successful press event to happen, for goddsakes PLEASE record a special message, something like: "Hi it's Phil on Tuesday, November 10, if you're calling about the press release leave your contact info and I will call you right back." THAT lets the person calling know that they have a better than 50% chance of speaking with a live person before DEADLINE... or leave an alternate, a cell number, an email address... if you want coverage!

I took a chance one time and went to a news conference without being able to verify the information that was presented in the press release. Guess who was the ONLY reporter at the event? ME! The other radio and TV stations passed because there were other events (maybe not as important) happening where they WERE able to make contact with a living soul!

In this modern "I want it NOW" world, reporter's deadlines have shrunk like crazy! If you email me your press release tonight, and I read it at 0800 tomorrow, you better have SOMEBODY manning the phones 0900 or before and you better be able to produce people I can interview by 1000! I'm sorry, but that's the way it is today!

Now, if you have a place where you can upload AUDIO and/or VIDEO tracks, you are way ahead of the game and making it eaasier for the press to cover your event! "Oh, you couldn't make it out to hear so-and-so speak about the issue? We have a soundbite on our website and a video of the presser on YouTube." You will be surprised how well that scenario plays out!

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Star Press

Perhaps they could have converted the old bookmobile into one of these snazzy weiners (not YOU, Anthony!) , and dispensed free hot dog lunches at designated locations across the city?

Nah!

In these economic times of trouble, when you can't even buy a junky used car for $2500, and the Albany Public Library is hurtin' for money (you would be too if you bought a bunch of $1000 apiece chairs for computer-users at the branches), I was shocked to see they sold the bookmobile for a sliver of what AllOverAlbany says it is worth!

Ah well, it was way too big for my driveway! Maybe the library got some sort of nice tax write-off or something - the behemoth costs around $100K a year to operate, according to the Times Union story...

Your tax dollars at work, Smallbanians!

Albany Public Library Bookmobile SOLD

Zambia: Brenda Zulu Discusses the State of Zambian Blogosphere By Soneka Kamuhuza ::: The spotlight is on Brenda Zulu, a Zambian journalist and blogger. Brenda’s blog [1] provides her reflections on information, communication and technology issues in Africa. Based in Lusaka, Zambia, Brenda has been blogging since 2004 and is one of Zambia’s seasoned blogger’s. I talked with Brenda about her life, her blogging origins and the state of Zambian blogosphere. · read »

Quidditch — This Week’s Grobby!

In honor of the last movie installment of the epic Harry Potter series, this week’s Grobby (that’s Greatist lingo for hobby) is inspired by the magical sport of wizards: Quidditch. But Cathy Zhu blogs that this fast-flying game isn’t just for the magically-blessed among us. Real-life— or “Muggle”— Quidditch has taken off in a big way, with opportunities for landlubbers and broom-riders alike. Check it out!

Highlights of Hogwarts: Harry Potter’s Best Spells, Coolest Creatures, Saddest Deaths, and More...

Garden gnome explains why the free blog advertising networks (eg. Entrecard, Exposure Your Blog) are more popular than paid blog advertising networks (eg. CMF Ads, Adgitize, Project Wonderful)::: meantime, Matthias publishes his sneaky SCRAPER CODE for entrecard cheats!

Zambia: Brenda Zulu Discusses the State of Zambian Blogosphere By Soneka Kamuhuza ::: The spotlight is on Brenda Zulu, a Zambian journalist and blogger. Brenda’s blog [1] provides her reflections on information, communication and technology issues in Africa. Based in Lusaka, Zambia, Brenda has been blogging since 2004 and is one of Zambia’s seasoned blogger’s. I talked with Brenda about her life, her blogging origins and the state of Zambian blogosphere. · read »

Tonyo Cruz uploads the five-year Philippine Digital Strategy plan of the government's Commission on Information and Communications Technology. The aim is to make the Philippines a digitally-empowered nation in 2016.

Gaga slammed by disability groups after performing on stage in wheelchair...

Tags: Harry Potter, Dobby



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Pop Clips » 14 July 11

CELEBRITIES ::: Last night, police were called to the Palomar Hotel in Dallas, Texas by an employee per Nicki Minaj’s request following a scuffle at the hotel’s pool. Grapevine sez Nicki got into a verbal tiff with an unidentified male she was staying with. The row moved to her hotel room where NM told police the man smacked her in the lower lip. When police arrived the unknown man had already left the premises and Nicki asked to not file charges on the attacker whom she stated was not in a relationship with.

via TMZ

Pablo Andrés Rivero shares [es] a slideshow by photographer Patricio Cooker with music by rapper Ukamau y Ke: “The pictures reflect everyday life in El Alto, one of the most sui generis cities in Latin America, because of its rapid growth and its peculiar social, economic, and political dynamics.”

BLOG COMMENTING ::: “1 New Comment.” That line is one of the most exciting things a blogger can read and can make his day. It shows that someone out there is actually reading his blog, and taking some time off to comment on his article. It is like a gold star on the workbook of a preschooler, applause after a recital or a medal after a competition. For those who spend their time isolated in their homes and chugging away in front of the computer, this is their way of socializing and meeting new people. After all, that is what blog comments are about – it’s an online conversation... supposedly... Nikki Romero explains...

FOOD ::: The refreshing and delicious watermelon salad recipe.

China Media Project highlightsanother food scandal. A tofu workshop in Lanzhou added chemicals and shampoo into Tofu to create a sticky texture.

•Oiwan Lam

Xiaxue as a Live Mannequin for Essential

Tags: XiaXue, blogging



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NetActive 13 July 2011

BlogLab ::: eXperiment FAIL

"The mechanics of search engines and emergence of trends are changing the quality of googles." ~ J. Felonious Fisch

What?

Search engines like google are powered by algorithms that have been refined to a point of near pseudo-self-awareness.

Earlier this year the title I gave to a particular post atracted search engines (and visitors) like flies: "Paris Hilton Sex Arab Britney Nude Charlie Sheen Photo Video Shakira Hot Free Hareega Bush Libya Man Men Girl Teen Obama Osama Sexxx XXX Nokia TV Bin" - it was done intentionally, experimentally, after I'd seen a similar headline on another blog. I tethered it to a post about traffic and my dear internet friends Windy and Lainy.

And it worked like a charm. I got 7X the usual daily traffic for nearly 4 days in a row before it trickled off.

Fast forward to THIS WEEK. I chanced upon an article all about tinkering with searches, search engines, social networks and SEO. Before proceeding, read "Experiments on Google+ and Twitter Influencing Search Rankings"

A very interesting article, yes?

Inspired by that article, I constructed a new post, entitled "Assist a Mom Euclidean Taeniasis of Galapagos Portly Domesticus Connochaetes mta Elizabeth Smart Shuttle Launch Rupert Murdoch Euclidean Perry Euxlis".

Now, based on what you've seen so far, you'd think my new post would be an SEO "Slam dunk". It was not. It attacted ZERO search engine-directed traffic!Here's my analysis:

New algorithms recently put into service are pouring through topics, headlines and keywoprds faster than mice through a sack of grain. By the time I published MY experimental post, the terms seomoz used in its experiment had decayed in importance and relevance to such degree as they no longer mattered.

The "curve of deterioration" was short for my first post, and my second, experimental post could best be compared to a horse race: there was a race on Tuesday, I entered my horse, but me and my horse didn't show up athe track until Thursday. We ran in record time! We beat everybody. But we missed the actual race, so "nothing counts."

MORAL: You're going to have to get up awfully early (or be extremely lucky) to impress the search engines!

Good Luck, and BLOG ON!

ANOTHER HEAD-SCRATCHER ::: I've seen a lot of 'contest posts' where blogs encourage bloggers (and others) to win a cash prize by essentially making the visitors jump thru hoops in competition for the prize. So, I decided to offer my own unique contest. I decided to give USD $100 away to one lucky player. But there's been no 'buzz' and ZERO search-engine traffic. And although the URL is high-ranked on one of the stat-widgets appearing in the right-hand column on this humble weblog, I haven't seen one single instance of anyone arriving on the blog from another URL to that particular post. Frankly, I'm PUZZLED!

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Google Doesn't Love Me Anymore

It's on! Battle for control of the interverse!

Stargate TV-show fans know that as Teal'c has told the Jaffa many times that the Goa'uld may be powerful but they are NOT gods, I will tell you bloggers that Darren Rowse and Steve Ruebel may be a-list respected bloggers, but they also are NOT gods.

You hear about it whenever Rowse and Ruebel are right about something, but it gets "forgotten" when thay are not (anybody remember "lifestreaming" which was going to replace blogging? hahahahaa!)

Why Lifestream? To Model Leonardo Da Vinci - Steve Rubel

www.steverubel.com/why-lifestream-to-model-leonardo-da-vinci - Cached

Jun 26, 2009 – There have been a number of posts since I wrote yesterday that I am quitting blogging in favor of lifestreaming. A few of you wrote in ...

And who can forget that groundbreaker, Google BUZZ?

Google Buzz: We Might Be On To Something

www.dailyblogtips.com/google-buzz/ - Cached

Feb 11, 2010 – To illustrate my point: I received a Google Wave invite early on from a friend,... Darren Rowse also posted a similar post on Problogger. ...

Now, in July 2011, everybody's suddenly an expert on Google +1! It's amazing! They're spilling out of the woodwork! (there's also a lot of confusion about the Google+1 button and the Google facebook alternative. Are they one and the same? Related? Totally different? What is YOUR understanding of that? Care to leav it in comments, please?)

I was moved to comment on one of these "Google expert" articles. I wrote (see image above) that bloggers shouldn't act like lemmings and walk off digital cliffs on the say-so of Rowse or Rubel.

Here's a new knee-slapper for ya! Rubel now thinks TWITTER should be SCARED!

He bloggeth thus: "Social media networks have typically have one of two lineages - not both. They either first catch on with teens and twenty-somethings or they catch on with nerds (of which I count myself as one). Eventually there’s overlap.

Group A Graduates (Youth) Friendster, MySpace, Facebook and now Tumblr I would argue

Group B Graduates (Geeks) Blogs, Twitter, Friendfeed (RIP) and now Google+ I would say

I am seeing a lot of the same patterns here as when Twitter took off at SxSW several years ago. Except this time it’s much faster! Media, brands and celebs are jumping in. And, by it’s nature, Google+ can be a much more public network than Facebook will ever be."

"The bigger they are, the harder they FAIL."



Tags: problogger, Micro Persuasion



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Google Vs. Facebook Vs. Twitter

Big Brother 13 premieres tonight (July 7) on CBS
Did you know that those so-called "scraper" blogs could actually be your friends? And those fake twitter followers too?

Hello! Thanks for dropping by! How on earth did YOU arrive HERE? Can you tell me by leaving a message in my "comments" area below?

You may have noticed that I am running a few experiments here on this humble weblog. Here is one. The fascination with these experiments has temporarily sidetracked my blog redesign plans. And the I wonder if I should really bother with a re-design at all, considering... ah yes, considering WHAT, you ask? Well, that "WHAT" is something I am not willing to share right at this moment.

COMING SOON: a contest where you could win $100!

Assist a Mom Euclidean Taeniasis of Galapagos Portly Domesticus Connochaetes mta Elizabeth Smart Shuttle Launch Rupert Murdoch Euclidean Perry Euxlis

I had some serious doubts about this case right from day one...

Here's an update 2 July 2011 ::: NY POST: Maid cleaning up as 'hooker'!

UPDATE July 7 ::: Recent Photos of Diallo

::: JULY 5 UPDATE! CLICK HERE! :::

The woman who cried rape may be involved in a lot more than we have been led to believe. Is she really living in a building that exclusively houses HIV/AIDS carriers? The photo displayed here may or may not accurately depict her. Some say the picture is at least 10, maybe 15 years old. Others say it simply isn't her! What do YOU think? The way things have been going in the news, nothing really surprises me anymore. I have some added in some new information to an article I posted awhile ago. Consider this a "working update" vesrion, one where I will add new facts and allegations as they are reported.

"I have not given birth to a bad woman..." ~ quote from the mother of NYC chambermaid Nafissatou Diallo ::: Ms. DIALLO is quoted in the New York Times ‘Don’t worry, this guy has a lot of money. I know what I’m doing,’ (Diallo is seen in the accompanying photo)

Attention has now shifted from perp to the alleged victim of an alleged sexual assault of a 32-year old hotel chambermaid in New York City on May 14th by the former International Monetary Fund managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The sexual assault case against Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the "devout Muslim Ghanian" housekeeper.

The maid, Nafissatou Diallo from the West African nation of Guinea, told police that the 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn came out of the bathroom naked, chased her down, forced her to perform oral sex on him and tried to remove her underwear before she broke free and fled the room.

The New York Times reports ::: According to the two law enforcement officials, the woman had a phone conversation with an incarcerated man within a day of her encounter with Mr. Strauss Kahn in which she discussed the possible benefits of pursing the charges against him. The conversation was recorded.

That man, the investigators learned, had been arrested on charges of possessing 400 pounds of marijuana. He was among a number of individuals who made multiple cash deposits, totaling around $100,000, into the woman’s bank account over the last two years. The deposits were made in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and New York.

They also learned that she was paying hundreds of dollars every month in phone charges to five different companies. The woman insisted she only had a single phone and said she knew nothing about the deposits except that they were made by a man she described as her fiancé and his friends.

In addition, the official said, she told investigators that part of her application for asylum included a previous rape, but there was no such account in the application. She also told them that she had been subjected to genital mutilation, but her account to the investigators differed from what was contained in the asylum application.

Inquiring minds want to know more about Diallo, who received political asylum in the US, and has been employed at the hotel for three years: La famille de celle qui accuse Dominique Strauss-Khan de tentative de viol s'est confiée à SlateAfrique. Elle décrit une jolie jeune femme de nationalité guinéenne sans histoire, sérieuse et qui n'a pu être manipulée.

via SlateAfrique ::: The one who is called Ophelia is not from Senegal, Ghana or Puerto Rico, as some journalists have reported, but from Guinea.

The daughter of a merchant form the Peule tribe (40% of the population in a country of 10.3 million), she is from the Labé region in Guinea, and followed her husband, a Guinea merchant, to the USA in 1998. There, she divorced him and has been raising her 15 year old daughter alone in the Bronx. She has some family in Harlem, including her sister, who is married to a Guinean business man working in the import-export trade.

Nafissatou Diallo holds a green card, and has been working as a maid in the Sofitel Hotel for three years. She has a reputation as a serious girl.

“She is as hard a worker as her sister,” said a cousin of hers on the phone. Diallo’s family has not been able to see her yet. Like everyone else, they read the papers, but they hope the sexual assault is “less severe” that what is reported.

Mamadou Chérif Diallo, from the victim’s family, and a 35 year old Guinean who is working for a New York City agency, who is tasked with representing the family, said this:

She’s a good Muslim. She is really pretty, as are a lot of Peule women, but in our culture, we do not accept this kind of behavior. Seriously, Dominique Strauss-Kahn attacked the wrong person. It’s a scandal! It’s really sad, this accident!

Under police protection

The family explained that Nafissatou Diallo is in hiding with NYPD protection to protect her from the media. She presenting has a lawyer. The attorney general’s office in Manhattan, contacted by SlateAfrique, refused to confirm the identity of Nafissatou Diallo, a common measure to protect sexual assault victims in the US.

French-Cameroonian writer Calixthe Beyala wrote an open letter that has been posted on several websites, entitled: “On épouse une Blanche et on viole la femme noire -or- Rape the Black Woman, and Marry the White One” - here are two snippets:

“...he knows perfectly the Sofitel Hotel in New York led by French. In this hotel, work for many black women! Many of them were raped by the former head of the IMF and the scandalous affairs have always been suppressed by the hotel management...”

“It is traumatising to realise that some Black people still have chains in their minds, and do not question the appetite of powerful men for Black women, a morbid attraction, in which relations haven't changed since slavery.”

Global Voices' Julie Owono explores the possibility that Nafissatou Diallo is a "conspirator".

Does machismo cause rape? Tracy Clark-Flory investigates for salon.com.






Tags: DSK, Nafissatou Diallo, Dominique Strauss-Kahn



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The Case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn VS. Nafissatou Diallo Takes a Strange Turn...

Here's what people have been asking me about over the weekend in person, by telephone and via e-mail!

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE?
If passed into law here in New York, it will open the door for the legalization of polygamy, I guesstimate within 40 years.

DEAN SKELOS?
The buzz around Albany is that the NYS Senate Majority Leader is falling out of favour due to failure to act on Rent Control and Same-sex marriage. Could just be rumours, but as I see it, whether you stand FOR or AGAINST something, people respect you for having "the courage of your convictions." . People do not respect wishy-washy or indecisive people. I'm not really sure how the general public or GOP insiders view Skelos, but any doubt could be fueled by another faction trying to get their guy in as ML. We'll just have to wait and see on this one!

THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS?
If the election were held today, I don't think any of the declared candidates could beat President Barack Obama. But the election will NOT be held today, so all bets are off. (Aside: A Mitt Romney victory may slice a few years off legalized polygamy, an issue which is attractive to Mormons and some Muslims. There are a few loosely-knit fringe women's rights groups that believe polygamy would solve those "mistress" issues we hear so much about.)

ANTHONY WEINER?
Contrary to what you're hearing, he's not done yet! His "farewell address" was more like an acceptance speech. The man has a plan even if we (and possibly he) haven't got a clue as to what it may be.

THE DECLINE OF THE BLOG?
People have been saying blogs are "going out of favour" since 2005! Poppycock!

Inquiring Minds Want To Know...

Sitting in the same position all day, day after day, is a recipe for injury. As reported at Canada.com, “Sitting too long is the most common mistake employees are making.” In fact, even if a monitor and keyboard are at the ideal height and you have an ergonomic chair, the effect of so-called “static loading” will take its toll as muscles begin to atrophy. This is because, as a physiologist would describe, “The musculoskeletal system is unsuited for prolonged static work because the body cannot supply fresh nutrients to the stressed tissues.”

ELD living goods has a product line designed for and tuned to all of you modern "digital aborigines" --- It's summertime... but look out your doors and windows... walk or drive along your streets... where are the children and teen-agers of 2011? They're indoors, sitting down, on their computers and x-boxes...

These sedentary kids are shaping up to be the sedentary adults of tomorrow. But there is something that can be done for them (and for YOU), simply by purchasing products designed to help with human posture.

ELD Posture Correction Cushion and Travel Bags present solutions for modern digital people ::: Somssi’s High-Elasticity Chair Backrest Cushion, mаdе wіth highly elastic urethane memory foam, іѕ perhaps thе best οf іtѕ kind thаt prevents thе spinal disorders іn students, computer addicts аnd sedentary workers. If you are like me, you spend most of your time at work and at home by sitting before the computer. If you do not maintain perfect posture, you put your health at risk.

Thе ELD Hip-Up sitting cushion corrects аnd maintains proper hip shapes, besides being a therapeutic orthotics fοr hemorrhoids аnd urinary incontinence sufferers. Thе Hip-up sitting cushion pulls thе legs together tο maintain сοrrесt posture.

The ELD Travel bags are well-structured bags that caters the demands of any traveler. They have different kinds of travel luggage bags that includes hardside luggage, softside luggage and vintage luggage treatment!

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Contact Information for Potential Buyers

Contact person : David Park
Email : eldkorea@gmail.com / eldkorea@naver.com
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Tags: ELD, Good Posture



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ELD: Products for Digital Aborigines

Stop rallying around all those icky "blogging gurus" who really want to dip into your paypal account more than they want to help you succeed!

This post is dedicated to all of you poor blogging scrubs who sincerely want to make money. You've heard the golden word: MONETIZE! Day after day new posts appear by "blogging gurus" who promise untold fortune and fame if you buy and download their PDF or eBook. Who gets rich here? They do!

These "blogging gurus" get tons of FREE publicity and rack up a lot of interviews by bloggers who fawn over their every word. Interviews that turn out to be nothing more than adverts for the same old stuff that everybody and his brother and then some are selling somewhere online! Michael Fortin calls it "A Disturbing Trend in Internet Marketing".

If you look at all of the "guru" stuff carefully, you'll find they essentially are all selling the same thing. These "gurus" practice "The law of subtraction," the process of getting YOU to subtract YOUR money from your account (and turn it over to them!)

Michael Fortin's words in a post about "The Secret" come to mind and apply to the "blogging secrets revealed by your friendly guru" craze: "And the people who sell the secret as such are the worse of the bunch, in my opinion. Those greedy vultures are masters in the art of repackaging material in a way that caters to a specific market in need of the package — and not the thing being packaged."

Want some fun, fabulous FREE blogging advice? I've put my entire FREE series "THE BLOGGING CLASS" online at The One Minute Blogger. There's $200 guru-dollarsworth of information and good advice, and you get it all FREE. Nothing to subscribe to. No annoying pop-up screens. Nothing to download. Just FREE!

RELATED ::: End of the road for Social Media "gurus"?






Tags: blogging tips, underground blogging secrets



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The Law of Subtraction - It's No Secret!

I could hardly believe my eyes! Talk about drastic measures! This is as drastic as drastic gets!

I have concluded that the following article by Steve Rubel could serve as a lesson for any blogger who has suffered through the indignity of having his or her blog deleted beyond recovery. It's entitled "¶ Why I Adopted a Scorched Earth Policy, Dismantled Two Blogs and Jumped to Tumblr in a Single Weekend" written by the same fellow who was lead lemming in the "Posterous / Lifestreaming" movement (if indeed there ever was such a movement).

Perhaps its symbolic, but that’s exactly the approach I took to my digital presence this past Memorial Day weekend. I started a fresh new site on the future of media over on Tumblr. Then I promptly turned around and slashed both my TypePad-powered blog, which I ran from 2004 to 2009, and my Posterous blog, which I started with some fanfare back in 2009. With just two clicks of a mouse I rid the web of literally thousands of blog posts, some of which I am proud of - others less so - and redirected the URLs to the new site.

Now before you write off this decision off as simply a mid-life crisis, let me explain why I did so. There’s actually a method to my maddness.

I fundamentally believe that we are entering the next great era of the web - The Validation Era. In this age of too much content and not enough time, the public will increasingly need to hear things validated across four interconnected media clovers that are converging across four different screens - phones, tablets, PCs and TVs. To be successful, businesses and individuals will need to continually ensure their engagement spans the media cloverleaf.

These four media spheres include:

* Traditional media - powerful mainstream brands like CNN, the BBC and more
* Tradigital media - emergents like TNW, Politico and others that have social DNA
* Owned media - corporate/brand content (web and apps) that emulate media
* Social media - digital embassies in the big hubs - Twitter, YouTube, Facebook

That’s why I decided to jump to Tumblr and why I didn’t stay with Posterous or move to Wordpress or SquareSpace, all of which are solid platforms.

Tumblr is a truly unique hybrid. It sits squarely in the center of the Media Cloverleaf.

The premise appears interesting enough: "too much content, not enough time" (basically a new spin on the old "information overload") - and an emerging platform - tumblr.com - which the author sees as a "media cloverleaf".

OK - I actually LIKE that "media cloverleaf" descriptor. Keep in mind that "media presence" is illusory. Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame" concept applies here.

But then, Mr. Steve Lifestreamer revealed the apparent catalyst behind his self-inflicted blitzkreig: Google's +1. Oi vey! The digital finger snapped, and he responded immediately! Knee-jerk! I wouldn't call that "going where the media is" one bit!

I am sure you’re scratching your head as to why I deleted my old blogs, scorching the ground I once resided on. The answer is Google.

I believe that Plus One, if adopted, is a game changer. These endorsements, plus Facebook likes and other social signals, will help tell Google what to pay attention to and what to let fade away. I want to make it easy for Google. The only way to do so was to scorch the earth. Anything more will confuse it. I want one site to earn the +1s, not three.

Oh yeah - me too - I jumped on +1 - but I also signed up with MySpace, twitter and facebook long before each became wildly popular - and I also signed up with a bunch of "losers" who are no longer in existence!

And I'm on tumblr! I won't lie to you - I jumped on it after I saw that my buddy Little Miss B, Yarah Bravo, had opened a tumblr blog. I saw a platform with many desirbale features which could serve as a backup blog should any ills befall my blog*spot home! The former Lifestreamer closes his article with these words:

Today, the media spans four clovers and Tumblr seems like the perfect play. Time will tell.

Indeed. I guess we can write "Lifestreaming" off at this point? Tumblr is the new "it"??? OK. I'll play along!

Just like the tornados that nearly wiped Joplin off the map and surprised the folks in Massachusetts, "digital disaster" could strike at any time. You should always have a PLAN B, and save your blog on a CD or DVD!

By way of, by way of, by way of...

Here's another thought provoking article which deserves to be paired with this one, via Lindsay Oberst via Amplify via Mashable (donchajustluv referrrrals?)





Tags: lifestreaming, tumblr



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Digital Aborigine Discovers Cyber El Dorado (Again)

Looks to me like that New York Post "Exclusive" wasn't - let this be a lesson to the commoners among you. This is how the Mainstream Media works!

Genette Cordova, cover girl!

#WeinerGate update Gennette Cordova vs. The New York Post

She can hardly believe it herself...

Dan Collins, on the Weiner Scandal ::: “Strangely enough, most women bloggers don’t seem to want to touch this thing.”

Except maybe for Little Miss Attila... Hmmm, nothing on Michelle Malkin...

Genette Cordova is back on twitter!

Secretary of State aide Huma Abedin may be the next "Good Wife" to launch a mad crackdown on her hubby: she may have some "competition" ... or not ...

With everything going on these days, like Arnold, Tiger Woods, the mad Frenchman and the hotel maid, the political fellow from western NY who sent out shirtless pix of himself... this isn't really surprising!

21-year old College coed Gennette Cordova (aka "Gennette Nicole" Cordova, a student at Whatcom Community College, Bellingham, Wash., where she is a reporter for the student newspaper, Horizon) got a XXX photo from Rep. Anthony Weiner's Twitter account! She says she never met him in person, but admitted to being "a fan". The Daily News points out ::: Some right-wing bloggers insist it must be proof that Weiner was having an affair with Cordova, who had once jokingly Tweeted: "I wonder what my boyfriend @RepWeiner is up to."

Cordova issued a lengthy statement [ReAd it HeRe], complaining about how she's been characterized on blogs and other web sites.

Rep. Weiner insists a "hacker" sent photos to "Genette Nicole" ---

THE PLOT THICKENS:::
Liz Benjamin: “The woman to whom the picture was sent has since deleted both her Facebook and Twitter accounts. Very odd.”

Yeah... why would she delete her accounts ??? That's a move of DESPERATION...

And apparently, there's been an effort underway to erase the name “Gennette Cordova” off the Internet — even having her byline removed from articles she wrote for her college newspaper!

Hover & CLICK on the image for the Daily NX Story!

JUST IN! CONSERVATIVE BLOGGER CONFESSES TO HOAX!
Tags: Genette Cordova, Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner



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#WeinerGate (Wienergate?), Genette Cordova and Huma Abedin

I'm always interested in finding new ways to stimulate and promote my blog business! PEOPLE love free stuff! Laser engraved pens can be a very efficient tool for promoting your blog or social media site. They look snappy: Amsterdam Printing designs them in-house, and they are available in a variety of colours and styles.

If you're the kind of blogger who attends meet-ups, tweet-ups, "falsh mobs" and really any events specifically organized by and for bloggers and other social-media devotees, pens make a great hand-out gift. No one ever says "no" to a free pen, and they almost always hang on to the ones that are stylish (like the sample shown in the picture above)!

Think about that: a classy, professional gift that will keep on giving because whoever picks it up is likely to check out your blog or social media account if they are near (or next time they hop on) a computer!

Now it's just not pens: you may want to think about other giveaway items, such as t-shirts, coffee/cocoa mugs (it'll be autumn before you know it) and more. Imagine that eloquently designed coffee mug with your info emblazoned on it, sitting in an office on somebody's desk day after day, a constant reminder that YOU are on the internet! There are certainly companies out there offering similar services, but consider the fact that AmsterdamPrinting.com has quite a huge selection of superior quality promotional items, at low low prices.

Here's something else you haven't been thinking of: ENVELOPES! Personalize them the same way you would your pens, with your blog url and/or twitter id! There's a link on the website to create and order your very own custom printed envelopes. Next time you're sending a letter to a friend or relative, or mailing a bill, or sending an order in for something, once again people are able to see your info! (You can even add a logo or your gravatar!) The more eyes that see your twitter id or your blog URL, the better for you! And who knows: suppose somebody wearing one of your custom t-shirts has their picture taken by a magazine or newspaper! Presto! Instant free PR and advertising!







Tags: Amsterdam Printing, AmsterdamPrinting.com



This post brought to you by the fine folks at AmsterdamPrinting.com. The opinions here are my own, representing my satisfaction with the tactics outlined above. Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

Get Your Blog or Social Media Website Noticed by Giving Gifts!

The "Cloud Wars" Have Begun! However, even the best-laid plans of GaGa can run afoul...

"I could sell 10,000 ebooks a day, and it would still take the rest of my life to saturate the current market." ~ JA Konrath

Move over Kindle! Welcome the all-new NOOK™!

New York, New York – – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today expanded its bestselling digital reading offering with the All-New NOOK, The Simple Touch Reader. With a full touchscreen, NOOK™ features record-setting, extra-long battery life on the easiest-to-use, ultra-light, portable 6-inch eReader with the most-advanced E Ink Pearl display, and the world’s largest bookstore available by Wi-Fi®. Now available for pre-order at www.nook.com and at Barnes & Noble stores for just $139, NOOK will begin shipping on or about June 10.

To set the tone for this article, you need to keep at the front of your mind that from the teens through 20 and 30-somethings and sometimes beyond, INTERNET=FREE. That's the mindset when it comes to "buying" material, whether it be newspapers, eBooks, Lady GaGa mp3 music: keep it as close to "FREE" (even 99cents will do) as possible!

Author JA Konrath ::: "ebooks are more like a commodity. But not quite, because they don't conform to the rules of supply and demand, as there is an endless supply. But I believe there is also an endless demand."

Konrath hits target dead center here. Funny it is, the lower your price, the more you sell. Sell more lower your price. Wow. I sound like Yoda there!

Michael Levin blogs via GreecePost.com that Amazon effectively killed the pasttime of stopping by a bookstore for a bit of "browsing" ... and then he cuts to the chase:::

...the real reason why books are going to vanish is the remarkably un-businesslike business model of the publishers. Think of General Motors — decades of inefficiency, but without the federal bailouts.

In no other industry do producers actually wait passively to see what products are suggested to them, instead of doing market research to see what people really want to buy. Yet publishers seldom generate book ideas; instead they wait for literary agents to submit proposals. Houses decide which book to publish based on little more than a gut feeling that says, “I think we can make money selling this!”

Yet the books that publishers choose are almost entirely of zero interest to actual bookbuyers. After 9/11, there were a ton of books about 9/11, which nobody bought. Same thing with the Iraq War, the rise of Obama, the economic meltdown and even, inexplicably, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Or the books are rehashed business lessons, religious truths, sports clichés, motivational babble, exercise fads, weight loss techniques or pandering to the political left or the right. Who wants these books? Almost no one.

Most of the major publishers today are owned by international conglomerates who, at some point, will awaken to the realization that English majors in their employ are spending millions of dollars on books that no one wants to read.

As a result, few trade books earn real money for the publisher (and certainly not for the author!). That’s because the publisher bears the entire risk of buying, editing, printing and shipping copies of the book to bookstores all over the country on a 100 percent returnable basis. If your local Barnes & Noble doesn’t sell a particular book, it goes right back to the publisher, at the publisher’s shipping cost, for a full refund. Especially in the Internet era, you can’t make money putting books on trucks and hoping someone buys them.

JA Konrath believes that eBooks "will become the dominant format for reading fiction. They'll proliferate the US and Canada, the UK and Australia, and eventually the world. There's no ebook bubble. There is only unlimited potential sales." Konrath referred to it in a different post as a Gold Rush.

What are you waiting for? A gilded invitation? Write, my people, write!






Tags: Konrath, eBooks, eBooks, kindle



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Digital Rebellion

The Life and Loss of Karen Woo, as shown on ITV, is a moving documentary of two lives caught up in the complexity of Afghanistan.

Karen was a constant reminder that happiness could only be reached if you make the most of who you are. ~ Camilla Schickova

The Karen Woo Foundation (karenwoofoundation.com) has been set up to help continue Karen's work providing healthcare to the most deprived communities in Afghanistan. Tributes to Karen from her friends and colleagues in dance can be found at theplace.org.uk/​karenwoo.

The Life and Loss of Karen Woo as seen on ITV 1, available in some countries on ITV player, where you can see some incredible footage of Karen talking, as if from the grave, about the dreams, ambitions and courage of a very ordinary girl who really put herself out there for what she cared about.

Karen’s personal Afghanistan blog can be read atwww.explorerkitteninafghanistan.blogspot.com

If you would like to make a donation to the Karen Woo Foundation please visitwww.karenwoofoundation.com

To find out more about Bridge Afghanistan, please visitwww.bridgeafghanistan.blogspot.com

Tags: Dr. Karen Wook, Karen Woo



Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and Dave Lucas are properly cited. Permission to reprint any comments below is granted only for those comments written by Dave Lucas and staff.

The Life and Loss of Karen Woo